Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Hello,

If this is something you wish to do with out the services of an attorney, I suggest you get into contact with illinois legal aid.

Their website is informative and is a good resource.

www.illinoislegalaid.org

It seems from your answer that the Sheriff has already enforced the Order of Possession, the tenant has been removed from the premises, and you have ideally changed the locks. It was the tenant's responsibility to remove their personal property from the premises. If s/he did not, then you have the right to remove it yourself. It is not advisable to place the tenant's personal property on the sidewalk, because you could be fined by the city. Feel free to call our office, if you would like to discuss this matter further, 773-684-5730.

This reply does not constitute an attorney-client relationship, and is strictly limited by the information provided.

If you had done this right, the Sheriff should have removed everything - the Sheriff comes out with an order you've placed after expiration of any "stay" period that the judge may have ordered, with a moving company and oversees the removal. The Sheriff doesn't come out without your placing the order and putting down a moving deposit. Effectively nothing of the tenant's should be left and you should have been there too so that as suggested above you could have the locks changed when the Sheriff was finished -- again something you as owner/landlord must do -- it's not done for you. Part of the point of this "painful" process is so that you are not accused by the tenant of illegally disposing of property that could cost you money! So it sounds like some part of the process is missing. You can always go to the Sheriff's office and talk to someone who handles evictions, but I suggest contacting an attorney who can complete the process for you. On the other hand if everything I've said did happen, you should change the locks and good luck re-renting the place.